California group says iPhone uses illegal toxins

Mark Raby, 16th October 2007

Oakland (CA) - An environmental activist group in Oakland has filed a complaint against Apple saying the device contains toxins prohibited by California law.

The group, The Center for Environmental Health, says the iPhone violates Proposition 65, which requires any product that exposes reproductive toxins or carcinogens to have a warning label. Otherwise the product must be taken off of store shelves.

"We want the company to take the toxic chemicals out of the product and make it safer," said CEH spokesperson Charles Margulis. The group says the iPhone's plastic earphone wiring contains phthalates, which has been linked to birth defects. Their finding is based on a recent Greenpeace report that found the hazardous toxin.

"It's a reproductive hazard. It could be a kidney hazard," said Rick Hind, a legislative director at Greenpeace, according to the San Jose Mercury Times.

Last year, Greenpeace gave Apple a 2.7 rating on its 1 - 10 scale of "green-ness", behind all other major corporations in the report. Since then, Steve Jobs has pulled to bring environmentally friendly activity into the company.

Yesterday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that made phthalates illegal in children's toys. The activist group claims the iPhone's chemical elements could cause exposure of the hazardous substance to reach everyone, including children.